by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot of students will not be asked to pay the full, advertised sticker price of a school. Instead, they will be given a financial aid offer that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The price tag of going to University of Arkansas-Fort Smith can appear overpowering, but remember that the majority of students obtain some kind of financial assistance.
Just what financial assistance solutions will UAFS provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep going to see just how much financial aid could be open to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
For incoming first-year students at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, 99% of first-year full-time students received aid of some kind some 794 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 95% | $7,715 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 81% | $4,132 |
| Federal Pell grants | 57% | $5,829 |
| State/local grants | 44% | $1,305 |
| Federal student loans | 29% | $4,912 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At this school, about 80% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $8,039 (covering around 4363 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 80% | $8,039 |
| Federal Pell grants | 39% | $5,542 |
| Federal student loans | 26% | $6,295 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $8,474.
The figures below show the average net price — cost after all grant and scholarship aid — broken out by family income.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $8,702 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $10,563 |
| Over $75,000 | $13,316 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $10,574 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $10,097 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use UAFS’s net price tool: uafs.edu/tuition-and-aid/net-price-calculator.html.
A typical borrower at UAFS leaves with $10,750 of federal borrowing.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $10,750 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $18,250 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $193.48/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at UAFS.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,993 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $16,078 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,332 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $10,965 |
| Middle income | $10,250 |
| High income | $11,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,813 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $9,000 |
| Independent students | $15,750 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. UAFS.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The totals below capture Stafford lending at UAFS:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 16176 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $247,048,915 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 71 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $344,223 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $4,848 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 7 |
| Total DoD amount | $13,306 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $1,901 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.